WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Freedom Prize Foundation have announced that more than $4 million will be awarded to efforts that reduce United States dependence on foreign oil while enhancing the nation’s security, economic prosperity, and health.

The new “Freedom Prize” will provide awards of $500,000 to $1 million for the innovative deployment of existing technologies in each of five broad categories: industry, K-12 schools, the military, state and local governments, and communities. Final guidelines and application instructions for the prize will be released this fall, and applications will be due in January 2009, culminating in the award of the prizes in the spring.

The Freedom Prize was established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which authorized DOE to support the prize.

Publication date:07/21/2008